VIAGINAS, Lithuania, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Lithuania's nuclear power plant will cease operations Thursday, complying with a condition of membership in the European Union, officials said.
Observers said the shutdown of the Soviet-era plant, scheduled for an hour before midnight, will mean higher energy prices and greater reliance on Russia for energy supplies, the BBC reported.
Lithuania joined the EU in 2004.
The facility in Viaginas, which opened 26 years ago when the country was part of the former Soviet Union, supplies about 80 percent of Lithuania's electrical power.
The European Union allocated about $1.2 billion to cover part of the plant's decommissioning costs, the BBC said.
Critics of the shutdown said the facility could operate safely for another 10 to 15 years.
